MIAMI VALLEY — Many communities around the Miami Valley are dealing with E-bike safety concerns.
News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins spoke to multiple police departments about the issues.
Miamisburg Police Department told us they’re posting a video about E-Bike safety every week this summer.
They’re one of many departments being proactive to keep these roads safe for everyone.
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“I do like my bike,” said Tim Rambeau of Tipp City. “There’s no doubt about it. I spend a lot of time. I mean, they gave me quite a bit of freedom. And the kids, you know, they love that as well.”
Rambeau has noticed more E-Bikes zipping through downtown Troy.
He said some kids might not be prepared to handle the power of an E-Bike.
“From a bicycle transitioning to an electric bike, which has quite a bit more speed and less stopping,” he said. “I mean, the whole thing has become more something of concern to people like me who have had kids on bikes and have grandchildren that are on bikes as well.”
E-Bikes are allowed to ride on roadways, but the ones behind the handlebars might not know the rules of the road.
It’s an issue with Tipp City Police addressed on Facebook.
“A lot of the complaints are that the kids are in the roadway, come up to a three-way or four-way stop or whatever. They’ll kind of blow right through. So, a big one is just to remind them, hey, the traffic laws apply to you,” the post said.
Tipp City Police Department is increasing patrols around downtown to crack down on reckless driving.
Officer Luke Veldman has spoken with more than a dozen kids on E-Bikes about safety.
“A lot of the kids are either new drivers or not drivers yet,” Veldman said. “So a lot of education, which is, as I said, we’re trying to get out front with the pamphlets, give them something to take home to mom and dad.”
Educating kids about E-Bike safety could send fewer of them to the ER.
“That is something that we don’t want, and that was my main concern is something, unfortunately, may happen to get people’s, uh, and can, you know, alert to be what is going on, how we’re gonna control it,” Rambeau said.
Dayton’s Children’s Hospital said 215 kids were injured in the past year from e-bikes, and only 53 of them were wearing helmets.
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